Mailman pleads guilty to stealing pain pill packages

An Amarillo mailman has pleaded guilty to one count of mail theft after surveillance cameras showed him stealing parcels containing Hydrocodone, a prescription pain reliever.

For about a month last year, Brent West stole seven pieces of mail from the North Amarillo Station, 841 Martin Road, that were mailed from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, court records show.

West pleaded guilty to the mail theft charge Tuesday in Amarillo’s federal court. A sentencing date has not been set.

In October, customers began notifying post office officials that mail containing the prescription drug was not delivered, the plea agreement said.

Covert cameras installed at the facility led officials to suspect West in the thefts.

“The cameras documented West removing seven parcels of mail from hampers assigned to other mail carriers at the (facility) and placing them in his hamper,” the agreement said. “The removed parcels corresponded to parcels which failed to be delivered to the addresses.”

Postal Service spokesman Robert Bolen said West began his employment as a letter carrier in Amarillo in April 2006. West is on unpaid leave pending termination, Bolen said.

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Now I don't have to worry about if I would receive my medications from the VA. Just wondering if he had help and how he knew what was in the packages. I've been told that one pill of hydrocodone can go for about $5 to $7, so he made a nice chunk of change of mine.

Most likely, he was stealing the Hydrocodone for himself. Hydrocodone (Vicodin) is highly addictive and there are many people, professionals included, who become addicted after being prescribed this drug. I doubt this had anything to do with theft for resale on the streets.

If it is addiction, he needs to get help. Either way, he shouldn't have done it.

My question is how did he know it was Hydrocodone. These packages are not mailed with the name of the med on the label. The VA mails out all kinds of medication so how did he know which one's were Hydrocodone?

He may have been using some but not all. He or helper took four monthly shipments from me. From what I know cameras weren't installed until late Nov or early Dec. Daisy, that was the odd thing, I never had a problem with any other med shipment and they are in mylar bags so you can't see in. He was even going in the computer and reporting that it was being delivered.

19$ a hour to start, 23.15$ after 3 yrs, 27$ a hour for carriers. Paid holidays, the best insurance, Up to a month of vacation, 13 days of sick leave, and top it of with a goverment retirement. My carrier is an old woman.

Good that the security systems managed to do their job and helped to identify a thief. With good security systems, thefts like this can be avoided, and even when something was ultimately stolen, the culprit can be caught, and some of the stolen goods can be returned. This is a good lesson in office security.